Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Monday stressed that the current status quo in Cyprus cannot constitute a permanent solution to the Cyprus problem, saying during his return flight from a trip to Azerbaijan that “we do not see the lack of a solution in Cyprus as a solution”.

“We will never leave the Turkish Cypriot people alone and helpless. The whole world must know this and commit it to memory. The Cyprus issue is not just a matter of foreign policy for us,” he said.

He added that his government “stands behind a two-state solution”, and said to this end that “our stance on Cyprus is extremely clear and unambiguous”.

“It is now necessary to accept the reality that there are two separate peoples and two separate states on the island. Models which have been tried repeatedly and thwarted each time by various games are a waste of time an energy,” he said.

As such, he added, “I invite all states, especially our friends and brothers, to recognise the Turkish republic of northern Cyprus [TRNC] and to establish political, diplomatic, and economic relations with it in order to support lasting peace on the island of Cyprus”.

He then made reference to his speech at the United Nations general assembly in New York in September, saying that “as I said from the UN podium, the Turkish Cypriot people’s sovereign equality and equal international status must be recognised, and the inhumane isolation to which they are subjected must end”.

‘Steps will be taken’ to ‘increase visibility’ of Turkish Cypriots

“In the coming period, we will continue to take steps within the framework of this call and stand by the TRNC on international platforms. Steps and projects which will increase the visibility of the TRNC will continue,” he said.

To this end, he stressed that “the Cyprus issue is a national cause which we will pursue until justice prevails” and added that “everyone should know this by now”.

He also passed comment on his country’s relations with Azerbaijan, with his visit to the country having been aimed at smoothing over something of a crisis which had developed between the two typically closely aligned countries over the matter of the wearing of headscarves in schools, and their relations with Israel.

“Those who seek to create division between Turkey and Azerbaijan are engaged in a futile effort. There is complete solidarity, shared destiny, and brotherhood between Turkey and Azerbaijan. We will raise the strong voice of the Turk in our region and in the world together with our other brothers and build a prosperous future together,” he said.

He then added that “it is known that this unity disturbs some people above all else”, before appearing to give way on the matter of headscarves, saying that “we are different states” – a line used by Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev when he accused Erdogan of meddling and encouraging protests against Azerbaijan’s schools’ headscarf ban.

“However, at the same time, we are tightly bound together by the mortar of brotherhood. This mortar is the most important element which keeps us standing and strong,” Erdogan said.

Aim to ‘translate commitments into action’ at Cop31

Additionally, he spoke on the matter of the Cop31 climate summit, which is underway in his country’s Mediterranean coastal city of Antalya, and upon which world leaders, including Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides and Turkish Cypriot leader Tufan Erhurman, will descend later this week.

“At Cop31, we are not just bringing leaders together and issuing declarations through speeches. Our goal is to make this summit a platform where concrete results are produced and countries translate their commitments into action, because it is time for action, not just words on paper,” he said.

He added that “we attach importance to the issue of climate justice”, saying, “from raising awareness in every field to green industrialisation, from resilient cities to climate practices, many topics will be on our agenda”.